An Innovative Approach to Conserving the World’s Forests

Business and political leaders met this week in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the Business 4 Environment Global Summit (B4E). Held in partnership with WWF and Global Initiatives, businesses united around a goal to halt forest loss that affects much of the world’s valuable and threatened forests. Each year, an area the size of Georgia is lost to deforestation, the equivalent of 36 football fields per minute.

Uniting in action

More businesses than ever before are working towards solutions to stop this forest loss by committing to responsible forest management. Plus, governments are strengthening their decision making criteria around land use and financing. On the island of Borneo, one of the most forest-rich places on the planet, WWF’s Green Business Network is an example of this innovative approach. Businesses are taking the first steps on the road to a green economy and low carbon future by focusing on the 54 million acres designated for conservation and sustainable development called the Heart of Borneo.

At the summit, WWF called on forestry companies to support responsible forestry by joining WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), and other business sectors to support the goal of achieving certification of 75% of key global commodities in the region by 2020. Carrefour, a leading retailer in Indonesia, made a commitment through the endorsement of GFTN. During the summit, the group’s two biggest suppliers for tissue paper in Indonesia pledged to implement sustainable business under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Learn more about what this commitment means to the wildlife that reside in the world’s richest and most vulnerable forests.

What can you do to help protect forests?

Join WWF’s Conservation Action Network and pledge to buy responsibly sourced wood to help conserve the species that depend on the world's forests. If you stop buying wood that comes from forests that are badly managed or illegally produced, then the suppliers of this timber will have no choice but to change as well. Take action now